Under the Mistletoe
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: It was just a crazy Christmas party on the director's part. Who knew it would have ended with Durbe and Rio under the mistletoe? Vector...


**D.T.B: Honesty is the best policy. I was going to post this on Christmas, but Fanfiction decided to be a jerk and wouldn't let me on when I had the chance. Some Christmas present, huh? Anyway, enjoy this late Christmas special.**

* * *

**Zexal Oneshot:**

**Under the Mistletoe **

**Romance/Humor**

**Durbe/Rio**

**It was just a crazy Christmas party on the director's part. Who knew it would have ended with Durbe and Rio under the mistletoe? Vector...**

**(I don't own Zexal. I am the DIRECTOR.)**

* * *

Under the Mistletoe

* * *

Durbe and Merag looked deeply into each other's eyes. "Durbe-kun," she said softly.

"Merag...," Durbe responded.

The two were pulled into an embrace as the wisteria Barian began to fade away. "Don't leave me, Durbe!" Merag cried. "Please. I need you."

Durbe's hand rested in her deep blue hair. "I'm not leaving, Merag," he said. "I won't ever leave you." His body began to become ethereal and his legs had long since vanished. "Merag...watashi wa..."

"Huh?" went Merag.

"Merag...watashi wa...anata o...aishi-"

Then his words became nothing as his spirit faded away.

Merag's tears became like ice as her hands reached out to her beloved. "Durbe!"

Then she fell to her knees and allowed the tears to fall.

Silence.

**"****Okay, guys. That's a wrap."**

The director finally said the greatest words any underpaid actor would die for.

Durbe then walked over to Merag and held out his hand. "Do you need a hand up, Rio-chan?" he asked.

Rio smiled beneath her Merag mask and accepted his hand with a giggle. "Sure," she said.

Then she stood up and patted her gown. Then both of them pulled off their masks and started for the door. **"Thanks for handling that scene, guys,"** the director said from the booth. **"You've earned your place at the Christmas party."**

"Thanks, Director!" Rio said, waving her hand in the air.

Durbe smiled slightly as he turned the doorknob. Then he opened the door, only to be bombarded with laughter.

From the Barian Emperors, Alit, Gilag, and Vector.

"What is the deal?" Rio asked. "Did you guys breathe in Vector's laughing gas again?"

Vector's answer was not what they saw coming.

"You two looked so cute together," he said. "How adorable."

"Durbe's lines were totally priceless!" Alit laughed. "He was just about to confess his love for Merag!"

"Too bad the director had the two of you leave the audience with a cliffhanger," Gilag said, his arms folded across his chest. "You would have had the chance to do you-know-what and the audience would have totally flipped out."

Both Rio and Durbe turned bright red. "Oh, cut it out, you guys!" they shouted. "It was just a scene!"

"Oh really?" Alit asked, giving Durbe a nudge. "You sure about that? I know one guy who doesn't think that."

"What do you mean this time, Alit?" Durbe asked.

The sudden chill that passed through the hallway gave him his answer.

Ryoga.

Instantly, all the Barians shared the same look of dumbstruck fear. Apparently, Ryoga, as usual, took the scene between Rio and Durbe very seriously, as proven by the scowl on his face and the aura he was giving off.

"Durbe...," he growled. "You weren't actually thinking of-"

"Hey!" went Alit suddenly. "I just remembered the Christmas party! Let's all go to our trailers, change into our Christmas clothes, and have a great time, okay?"

Frankly, that was the best decision Alit made all week. (Excluding his decision to ask Kotori out on a date.) Before anybody could either object or comply, Alit stared pushing them all the way to their trailers, leaving Ryoga to fume in peace.

* * *

Durbe looked himself in the mirror in his trailer. He was wearing a white, long-sleeve dress shirt and a blueish-grey vest with a flower pin on the left pocket. Hardly the kind of thing he'd normally wear, but the director insisted that the cast wear formal clothing for the Christmas party.

When she said that, he had one thought.

How on earth were they going to get Vector into a suit?

The last time they had attempted to get him into anything for a party, he refused to do it.

And then the director wondered why they came to the Valentine's Day party painted bright pink.

With a sigh, Durbe grabbed his scarf from the table beside him. Unlike his character, who had made it habit to tie it poorly, Durbe had chosen to look, at the very least, like a partially responsible adult. (Even though he's only 16.) So he tied his small scarf around his neck and tucked the rest under his vest.

There.

All better.

With a nod of approval, he exited his trailer and allowed himself a good stretch. "So, are you ready, Durbe?" a voice asked.

Misael.

"Yeah, Misael," Durbe responded. "I'm rea-"

He froze and his jaw fell.

Misael was ready alright. He was standing before him tall and erect, his arms folded across his chest, as usual. His hair had been actually combed, (For a change.) and was put up in a ponytail. (Droite suggested it.) His face had its usual surly expression, despite Yuma and Alit reminding him that he had to get into the holiday spirit.

Yep. He was ready.

It was just...the outfit.

He was wearing a grey shirt and a white vest with happy reindeer dancing in a chorus line on the lower half and Santa Claus saying 'Hohoho' on the upper. To complete this crazy look, he was wearing white pants with red shoes.

To be blunt, he looked like an idiot.

Durbe nearly slapped his forehead. Would have too if it didn't look so stupid. "What's the matter?" Misael asked.

"Nothing," Durbe mumbled. "Let's just get back to set." Then he reached into his trailer and pulled out two presents.

One was a bright blue gift with a white ribbon while the other was white with flecks of blue and a gold ribbon.

One present was for Astral, seeing as how they were doing a Secret Santa thing for the Christmas party, but the other was for...well...

"Is that for Rio-san?" Misael asked, his face adopting a light, know-it-all grin.

Durbe's face went bright red. "H-How did you...?"

"It's pretty easy to tell what you're thinking, Durbe," Misael said. "Just don't let Ryoga see it. I think he's still pretty mad about that scene."

Durbe sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" he asked himself. "Did you get anything for Vector? You're his Secret Santa this year, you know."

"I did," Misael said, holding up a box shaped gift wrapped in black wrapping paper. He clearly didn't care too much, seeing as how he used really cheap tape. "Don't worry. I'm sure somebody's gonna get a laugh out of it."

Durbe sighed again. Honestly, what was with Misael sometimes? "Let's just get back to set before the director comes looking for us. I don't want a repeat of what happened on White Day."

"Don't remind me," Misael mumbled. "All the boys were lucky to escape from set with their lives."

Durbe nodded, then the two boys started for the set again.

If only they knew of the terrors Vector had in store.

* * *

Rio looked around the set once or twice, keeping her eyes out for Durbe. The skirt of her ocean blue dress, which Durbe had helped pick out for her, was held in her slender fingers. When she noticed that he and Misael were walking up to set, she raised her hand in the air, her icy blue bracelet jingling as she waved her hand back and forth. "Durbe-kun! Misael-kun!" she called. "Over here!"

Durbe turned bright red and diverted his attention elsewhere, earning him a nudge from Misael. "You won't be able to give her your present if you keep looking away, you know," he mumbled.

"I realize that," Durbe said. "Thank you."

Regardless, Durbe couldn't look Rio in the eye.

Not when she was wearing **that** outfit.

He was, admittedly, very nervous about the party. Well, okay. Maybe not "very nervous."

"HELLO!"

Scratch that.

He was very nervous. Especially since Vector showed up in front of them, scaring them both out of their Barian wits. "Well, hello, my fellow Barians," he said happily. "What's the matter? You look pale."

Misael gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "What are you doing here, Vector?" he asked. "And what the heck are you wearing?!"

"What?" Vector asked, throwing his hands into the air. "All they said was I had to wear a suit. They didn't say anything about accessories."

Vector was wearing a suit. That much was, surprisingly, true. However, he was wearing it over his Barian form costume. He even cut holes in the back so his wings could stick out.

Durbe lifted his glasses up and gave his eyes a quick rub. "Vector," he mumbled, "do you really think that's going to work?"

"Sure it is," Vector said. "I'm allowed. Plus, I can give everybody a good scare."

"It's Christmas, not Halloween!" Misael snapped. "You're not supposed to scare us all out of a year's growth."

"Really?" Vector asked curiously. "It's Christmas?"

"Why would you think otherwise, Vector?" Durbe asked.

He had to ask.

"Hey, Durbe! Misael!" another annoying voice called out.

"We found you!" yet another one said.

The boys could see two silhouettes coming their way, their hands high in the air.

Alit and Yuma.

Or at least, they thought it was Alit and Yuma. They couldn't really tell under those crazy costumes they were wearing.

"What...are...the two of you...WEARING?!" Misael asked, his voice bordering on a full-on shout.

Alit was a Battlin' Boxer monster – though they couldn't tell which one underneath all the bandages he was wearing – while Yuma was Gagaga Magician without the hat. "Hey," went Alit, "Merry Halloween!"

"It's Christmas, Alit," Durbe said nonchalantly. "Why are you wearing that ridiculous outfit?"

"They told us to wear suits," Alit said. "So we are."

"Not our costumes," Durbe mumbled. "Suits are like what Misael and I are wearing."

All three boys (Yuma, Alit, and Vector.) looked over to Misael, who looked half ready to strike a pose. Then they started laughing. "What's with the reindeer?!" Alit asked.

"That looks so unlike you, Misael," Yuma laughed.

Misael's face went bright red.

Then Vector put a reindeer antler headband on Misael's head. "You're Misael the Red-hooved Reindeer!" he laughed.

That brought an anger mark onto Misael's head and he chased after the mad Barian, screaming such incomprehensible (Not to mention Misael-ish.) language, that everybody started laughing their heads off. "There he goes again," Alit chuckled.

"Yeah," went Yuma.

"Indeed," Durbe said. "He needs to focus more on his anger management lessons."

"If he did, he wouldn't be Misael anymore," Rio teased.

That brought out more laughter from everybody.

All except Misael and Vector, who were too far away to hear the joke. After five minutes of running, he jumped forward and grabbed Vector by the wings and tackled him.

Durbe then looked at his watch. "New record," he reported. "Looks like all that time at the track at school is paying off."

"He's gotten better," Alit said.

"Either that, or Vector's getting worse," Yuma said.

* * *

The party started off nice and simple. Go to your tables, chat with your friends, have some laughs. Find some mistletoe and give your girlfriend a kiss. (Alit's idea. Not mine.) Then the director walked up to the set and gave a microphone a tap. Everybody went silent. "Hello, members of the Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal cast!" she said happily. "I hope you've been enjoying the Christmas party." She looked at her tiny index card. "As of the end of this year, we will have filmed a total of 135 episodes! Thank you for all your hard work. We are all very grateful that you have stuck with us this entire time without turning in your resignations." (They had to admit that the thought occurred to them several times.) "So without further ado, let us commence the Secret Santas!"

For the most part, the reaction to the words, "Secret Santa," was positive. Even people such as the Arclights were getting their presents ready to be handed out. However, for people like the Barians, those words were murder.

Except for Misael, that is.

* * *

The Secret Santas were as follows:

Durbe had Astral. He gave him a notebook to hold all his observations in.

Misael had Vector. He gave him a Punch-In-The-Box. (Sorta like a Jack-in-The-Box, but with a boxing glove instead of a clown. You can guess the results.)

Kotori had Ryoga. Nobody knew what she gave him, seeing as how they were too busy trying to get Alit to stop sulking in a corner after he saw the two of them together. (He was mumbling something like, "Kotori-chan, how could you?")

Yuma had Miseal. He gave him a fake sword. Misael was half tempted to use it on him, just to see if it would actually wound somebody. (It was around that time that Durbe took it away from him.)

Quattro had Cathy. He gave her a kiss on the hand. (Durbe's big brother instincts activated there.)

Trey had Yuma. He gave him a statuette of Utopia. (Yuma cried tears of joy when he saw it.)

Quinton had Kaito. He gave him a picture of their first day onset. (Couldn't think of anything better.)

Gilag had Alit. He gave him a book on wrestling. (That brought him out of his sulking.)

Ryoga had Gilag. He gave him trouble.

Vector had Rio. She backed away before he could give her his present. (She was happy she did too, seeing as how it blew up in Vector's face five seconds later.)

Everybody else was all over the place, so they lost track after that.

* * *

Misael fell into his chair as he chugged down a glass of water. Durbe was looking at him through exhausted eyes. Then Misael let out a groan as he touched the bruise on his left cheekbone. "I could have told you the Punch-In-The-Box was going to backfire," he said.

"It was still worth it," Misael said.

Durbe let out an exasperated sigh. Then both of them felt a tug at their shirts. They looked down and found that Haruto was looking up to them, two presents in his hands. "Um...," went Haruto. He held the presents up to them with a smile on his face. "Merry Christmas."

Misael took his Christmas present slowly. "I thought you were Kotori's Secret Santa," he said. "Why are you giving these to us?"

"I don't have to be your Secret Santa to give you something," Haruto said.

"Thank you, Haruto," Durbe said, accepting the present from the little boy's hands. "I'm curious, did Kaito participate in the Secret Santa thing?"

"The director gave the usual threat if he didn't," Haruto said simply.

"So who does he have to give a present to?" Misael asked. "Your father?"

Haruto shook his head. "Rio-neechan," he said happily.

Durbe was so surprised, he spit out all of his hot chocolate. (Which he just **happened** to be drinking. It was **totally** not there for the funny.) Then he started coughing the hot chocolate out of his lungs. "Durbe, are you okay?" Misael asked worriedly.

"Was the hot chocolate too hot?" Haruto asked.

"No, it wasn't that," Durbe said. "I was just surprised. That's all."

"Not as surprised as I was."

Then Vector, who had been standing there for the past six seconds, picked up a napkin and started cleaning the hot chocolate off of his mask.

Whoops.

"What are you doing here, Vector?" Misael grumbled.

"Nothing much," Vector said. "Rio just wanted to talk to you, Durbe."

Durbe's face adopted a red tint.

"I see," Durbe said. "Where is she then?"

"Over by the dressing rooms," Vector said.

"Thank you." Then Durbe got off of his chair and started for the dressing rooms.

"Hey, Durbe-san," Haruto said. "You forgot Rio-neechan's present!"

Durbe's head jerked back and he found Haruto holding the white present with blue flecks in front of him.

Rio's gift.

"Thank you, Haruto," Durbe said, taking the present slowly.

"You're welcome," Haruto said.

Then the two exchanged a quick bow and Durbe started for the dressing rooms again.

Little did they know that Vector had seen Durbe's expression and had a very sneaky expression hidden underneath his mask.

This was going to be good.

* * *

Rio rocked back and forth on her heels, her hands hiding something behind her back. Five minutes had already passed since Vector had told her that Durbe wanted to talk to her.

She checked her watch.

Nope. Scratch that. It was seven minutes.

With a heavy sigh, she started walking back to the set.

Then Durbe finally turned a corner and started over to her.

Perfect timing.

Finally seeing him brought a smile to her face. "Durbe-kun!" she said happily, waving her hand in the air.

"Have you been waiting long?" Durbe asked when he finally reached her.

"Not really," Rio said. (The most cliché line anybody can use on a date.)

"That's good," Durbe said, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. Then he noticed Rio was still rocking on the heels of her feet. "Is something the matter?"

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Rio asked. "Why would something be the matter?"

"You only rock on your feet like that when you're nervous," Durbe observed.

Rio's cheeks flushed and she looked away. "Well," she began. She continued to rock back and forth of the heels of her feet. Then she pulled out a present and held it out before him. It was wrapped in deep purple wrapping paper and had a grey ribbon. "I'm your Secret Santa," she said softly.

Durbe's eyes widened.

"Merry Christmas, Durbe-kun," Rio said.

Then Durbe's smile reappeared on his face. Then he held out his own present for Rio. "I may not be your Secret Santa, but still, Merry Christmas."

The two exchanged their gifts and proceeded to open them. (They did it at the same time because they would have started doing the whole, 'You go first. No, you go first,' routine otherwise.)

Rio's present for Durbe was a novel that he'd been meaning to read for some time now. It was a great story about a knight who was trying to rescue his princess from certain death.

(Gee. Wonder what made him fall in love with **that** story.)

Durbe's present for Rio, however, was a greater eye-opener.

It was a bracelet with beads of blue, garnet, and wisteria.

Didn't take a genius to figure out where the colors came from.

Instantly, Rio's arms were around Durbe's neck and she was giving him her thanks. "This is beautiful," she said. "Now I see why you called me over here."

Durbe froze. "Rio-chan, I thought you called me," he said.

Rio froze. "What?" She pulled herself away from Durbe and looked him in the eye. "But then..."

Silence.

"Vector," they said nonchalantly, pointing at each other.

What was with him during these parties?

Well, they were about to find out.

* * *

"Vector," Durbe called as he reached the set, Rio's hand in his own.

The actor in question turned to face them both, a glass of punch in his hand. (How can he drink with that mask on?) "Oh, what is it?" Vector asked.

"What was the deal?" Rio asked. "Why did you call us to the dressing rooms like that?"

Vector looked up. Then he chuckled and called everybody to attention. Apparently, he and the director were at it again as the director grabbed her microphone and said, "And now, for the grand finale of our night. The Lovebirds of Barian World! Give them an applause, people!"

Naturally, everybody remained silent. Well, all except the Barians, who were too busy either laughing their heads off or giving them the wolf whistles. "Vector," Durbe began, his face beet red, "what on Barian World are you doing?"

"Where are you going with this, Director-san?" Rio asked.

Both the director and Vector started giggling. "Isn't it obvious?" Vector asked.

"Look above you, you two," the director said.

They did.

Then they regretted it.

A mistletoe.

They weren't the first to notice it either. Ryoga followed. "Don't even think about it!" he shouted. "Do you hear me!? Do NOT even think about it!"

"Director-san!" Rio practically pleaded.

"Sorry, Rio," the director said. "Tradition. You guys have to follow. So go ahead. Don't worry. We have no cameras."

"And you expect us to follow tradition in front of people?" Durbe asked, embarrassed.

"Yep," the director responded.

"I hate you, Director-san," the two of them thought. (Yes. They hate me.)

"Come on," the director nearly groaned. "Just a peck. Then we'll leave you alone."

Rio seemed to agree with that. "Durbe-kun," she said. As soon as he turned around, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. A simple one, too fast to be noticed by absolutely everybody, (Unless you count Ryoga.) but a peck. A peck that turned both of their faces bright red and sent absolutely everybody into a crazy frenzy.

* * *

The party ended on a very high note, let me tell you. Quite frankly, there were several people who were lucky to escape with their lives, such as Misael, who nearly died when Gauche noticed him kissing Droite. Then there was Alit kissing Kotori and Yuma got a little steamy. (Astral had to duel him to get him to stop looking at them.) Even Haruto gave little Dog-chan a kiss on the cheek.

Then there was about five or six other guys kissing their girlfriends when they assumed nobody was looking. (Vector went a little overboard with the mistletoe.) Their names shall not be placed here because most of the boys wish to keep their pride. All I can say is you wouldn't expect them to be so romantic.

* * *

Durbe wiped the sweat off his brow as he started to walk Rio back to her home. Ryoga was a little 'tied up' thanks to his insubordination after Rio gave Durbe that peck on the cheek. (He nearly killed the director.) "Well, that was a fun time," Rio breathed.

"Are you certain that 'fun' is the proper word?" Durbe asked with a huff.

"Why? What word would you use?" Rio asked.

His answer was immediate. "Crazy."

"Well, it was all the director's idea," Rio clarified. "So that makes sense."

"I suppose," Durbe said.

Rio giggled as they approached the house. "Well, this is my stop," she said.

"Yeah," Durbe breathed.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Durbe-kun." Then Rio turned and started for the door.

Silence.

"Rio-chan," Durbe began.

"Huh? What is it?" Rio asked, turning around to face him.

Then Durbe wrapped one arm around Rio's waist, placed his other hand in her ocean blue hair, and pressed his lips to hers.

There was a blissful silence between the two. Even the bugzapper over the doorway had grown silent. A warmth spread through the two of them, denying the cold the privilege of teasing them.

Then the snow began to fall.

About thirty seconds had passed before Durbe pulled himself away from her. Then he looked into her deep pink eyes, widened with surprise.

"Merry Christmas, Rio-chan," he said. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he turned around and walked away.

Rio was frozen for a brief moment. Then she brought her fingers up to her lips and sorted everything out in her mind.

His first kiss.

He'd given her his first kiss. And she'd given him hers.

Her heart began to beat widely as she raced back into the middle of the small street and watched him walk away. "Durbe!" she said happily. "Merry Christmas, Durbe!"

Durbe turned to her a little bit and gave her a look of surprise. Then he smiled at her.

Their eyes connected for a few seconds. Then he turned back and started for home.

"Merry Christmas, Rio," he said softly.

So all in all, the Christmas party ended very well. Even those who showed up the following morning with black eyes were happy. Heck, even Quinton was happy, and that was saying something.

Both Durbe and Rio still referred to each other with honorifics after that. At least when people were looking. Otherwise, they were as cute and loving as anybody could be. Ryoga still hadn't figured out about the kiss in front of the Kamishiro's front door. And it was better that he remained in the dark about it for another few years. Unless the Lovebirds of Barian World had the sudden urge to hear the lecture of the century.

* * *

**D.T.B: MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY! XD I hope you all got a good laugh during this little Christmas special. I know Vector did.**

**Vector: YES! I was FINALLY able to give Durbe his just desserts. Soon I shall expose his secret to the WORLD!**

**Sirius: He's lost it again.**

**D.T.B: Yeah, that's not surprising. **

**Blue Mokona: Merry Christmas! WAAAAAPUUUUU!**


End file.
